[face=SPIonic]tre/xontej e)fai/nonto oi( pai=dej kai\ e)/bhsan ei)j to\ i(ero\n pri\n to\n a)/rxonta gnw=nai au)tou/j.[/face]It's been a hard chestnut for a long time. And now I challenge this sentence:

The boys were shown running and they went in the sanctuary(or just temple) before the commander who knows them(lit., knowing them).

mingshey wrote:Yes, it's a present 2ndary perfect of infinitive. But I'm at a loss how to treat an infinitive here.

The problem is the pesky [face=spionic]pri/n[/face]. Here it is taking the inf+acc. construction: "before the leader recognized them."

Thanks, William! And I've figured it out just before looking at your answer, chewing it repeatedly since, and noticing that the leader was not said to be running after the boys, and the only verb he can take is [face=SPIonic]gnw=nai[/face].

I'd also say "the boys appeared running" or even "made an appearance running," which is a bit awkward but less confusing.